Latest news with #Isaacman
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SpaceX rocket launch in Florida uses Falcon 9 booster that launched former NASA admin pick
The first of back-to-back SpaceX launches took off on time June 10, and the Falcon 9 booster supporting this launch was an interesting choice. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:05 a.m. carrying 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first-stage booster that powered this mission was the same booster that launched the Polaris Dawn crew. The Polaris Dawn mission was commanded and funded by President Trump's former nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman. The Polaris Dawn mission, which also included two SpaceX employees, performed the first spacewalk by a private company and traveled the furthest into space since the Apollo moon missions. Isaacman was Trump's pick to serve as NASA administrator, but on May 31 Trump dropped Isaacman, saying he needed someone more aligned with this goals. A new choice for NASA administrator has yet to be announced. "After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space." The change came just days before a public feud erupted on X between Trump and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, who was close to Isaacman. On June 9, Isaacman posted the following to X in a discussion on what his plans would have been for NASA, which faces steep budget cuts in President Trump's proposal to Congress. "Spent the last few months assembling a pretty extensive plan—shaped by insights from a lot of smart, passionate people. No shortage of input — everyone loves NASA and wants to help. Maybe I will write an op-ed someday — but I didn't love being inundated with plans from people who thought they were uniquely NASA's savior — and I have little interest in doing the same," wrote Isaacman. "In short, I would have deleted the bureaucracy that impedes progress and robs resources from the mission (this is not unique to NASA it's a govt problem). I would flatten the hierarchy, rebuild the culture— centered on ownership, urgency, mission-focus alongside a risk recalibration. Then concentrate resources on the big needle movers NASA was meant to achieve," he wrote. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Live updates: 1st of back-to-back launch days to see SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Previous missions this Polaris Dawn booster flew include: NASA's Crew-8, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, IM-2, and six other Starlink missions. Overall, it was the 12th flight of the booster. Just over eight minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on the Just Read the Instruction drone ship, which was stationed out on the Atlantic Ocean. Tuesday's launch was the first of what may be back-to-back SpaceX launch days. The launch of the Axiom Space Mission 4 (Ax-4) astronauts is set for no earlier than 8 a.m. on June 11 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center pad 39A. Originally set for June 10, the launch was postponed due to poor weather in the ascent corridor. Commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the international crew of four astronauts will spend two weeks on the International Space Station. With the mission traveling to the space station, the mission must lift off on time or scrub for the day. The SpaceX booster from the Axiom mission will return to Cape Canaveral, creating an early morning Space Coast sonic boom. The FLORIDA TODAY Space Team will provide live updates beginning two hours prior to launch at Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX rocket launch in Florida used booster that launched Isaacman
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SpaceX rocket launch in Florida uses Falcon 9 booster that launched former NASA admin pick
The first of back-to-back SpaceX launches took off on time June 10, and the Falcon 9 booster supporting this launch was an interesting choice. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:05 a.m. carrying 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first-stage booster that powered this mission was the same booster that launched the Polaris Dawn crew. The Polaris Dawn mission was commanded and funded by President Trump's former nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman. The Polaris Dawn mission, which also included two SpaceX employees, performed the first spacewalk by a private company and traveled the furthest into space since the Apollo moon missions. Isaacman was Trump's pick to serve as NASA administrator, but on May 31 Trump dropped Isaacman, saying he needed someone more aligned with this goals. A new choice for NASA administrator has yet to be announced. "After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space." The change came just days before a public feud erupted on X between Trump and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, who was close to Isaacman. On June 9, Isaacman posted the following to X in a discussion on what his plans would have been for NASA, which faces steep budget cuts in President Trump's proposal to Congress. "Spent the last few months assembling a pretty extensive plan—shaped by insights from a lot of smart, passionate people. No shortage of input — everyone loves NASA and wants to help. Maybe I will write an op-ed someday — but I didn't love being inundated with plans from people who thought they were uniquely NASA's savior — and I have little interest in doing the same," wrote Isaacman. "In short, I would have deleted the bureaucracy that impedes progress and robs resources from the mission (this is not unique to NASA it's a govt problem). I would flatten the hierarchy, rebuild the culture— centered on ownership, urgency, mission-focus alongside a risk recalibration. Then concentrate resources on the big needle movers NASA was meant to achieve," he wrote. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Live updates: 1st of back-to-back launch days to see SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Previous missions this Polaris Dawn booster flew include: NASA's Crew-8, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, IM-2, and six other Starlink missions. Overall, it was the 12th flight of the booster. Just over eight minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on the Just Read the Instruction drone ship, which was stationed out on the Atlantic Ocean. Tuesday's launch was the first of what may be back-to-back SpaceX launch days. The launch of the Axiom Space Mission 4 (Ax-4) astronauts is set for no earlier than 8 a.m. on June 11 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center pad 39A. Originally set for June 10, the launch was postponed due to poor weather in the ascent corridor. Commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the international crew of four astronauts will spend two weeks on the International Space Station. With the mission traveling to the space station, the mission must lift off on time or scrub for the day. The SpaceX booster from the Axiom mission will return to Cape Canaveral, creating an early morning Space Coast sonic boom. The FLORIDA TODAY Space Team will provide live updates beginning two hours prior to launch at Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX rocket launch in Florida used booster that launched Isaacman
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Trump's palace coup leaves NASA in limbo
When President-elect Donald Trump nominated Jared Isaacman to become NASA administrator, it seemed like a brilliant choice. Business entrepreneur, private astronaut, Isaacman was just the man to revamp NASA and make it into a catalyst for taking humanity to the moon, Mars and beyond. Isaacman sailed through the confirmation process in the Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), by a vote of 19 to 9. He was poised to be confirmed by the full Senate when something so bizarre happened that it beggars the imagination. The White House suddenly and with no clear reason why, pulled Isaacman's nomination. After months of a confirmation process, NASA was back to square one for getting a new leader. Ars Technica's Eric Berger offered an explanation as to why. 'One mark against Isaacman is that he had recently donated money to Democrats,' he wrote. 'He also indicated opposition to some of the White House's proposed cuts to NASA's science budget.' But these facts were well known even before Trump nominated Isaacman. Trump himself, before he ran for president as a Republican, donated to Democrats and was close friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Berger goes on to say that a source told the publication that, 'with Musk's exit, his opponents within the administration sought to punish him by killing Isaacman's nomination.' The idea that Isaacman's nomination is being deep-sixed because of Musk runs contrary to the public praise that the president has given the billionaire rocket and electric car entrepreneur. Trump was uncharacteristically terse in his own social media post. 'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,' he wrote. 'I will soon announce a new nominee who will be mission aligned, and put America First in Space. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' CNN reports that Isaacman's ouster was the result of a palace coup, noting that a source said, 'Musk's exit left room for a faction of people in Trump's inner circle, particularly Sergio Gor, the longtime Trump supporter and director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, to advocate for installing a different nominee.' The motive seems to be discontent about the outsized influence that Musk has had on the White House and a desire to take him down a peg or two. Isaacman was profoundly gracious, stating in part, 'I am incredibly grateful to President Trump @POTUS, the Senate and all those who supported me throughout this journey. The past six months have been enlightening and, honestly, a bit thrilling. I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry.' The idea that a man like Isaacman, well respected by the aerospace community, who was predicted to sail through a confirmation vote in the full Senate, could be taken down by an obscure bureaucrat in White House intrigue, motivated by petty spite, is mind boggling. Even Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who has not been fond of Trump's space policy, was appalled. He posted on his X account that Isaacman 'ran into the kind of politics that is damaging our country.' 'Republicans and Democrats supported him as the right guy at the right time for the top job at NASA, but it wasn't enough.' NASA is in for months more of turmoil and uncertainty as the nomination process gets reset and starts grinding its way through the Senate. The draconian, truncated budget proposal is certainly not helpful, either. Congress, which had been supportive of Trump's space policy, is not likely to be pleased by the president's high-handed shivving of his own nominee. Whoever Trump chooses to replace Isaacman as NASA administrator nominee, no matter how qualified, should face some very direct questioning. Trump's NASA budget proposal should be dead on arrival, which, considering the cuts in science and technology, is not necessarily a bad thing. China must be looking at the spectacle of NASA being mired in political wrangling, a leadership vacuum and budget uncertainty with glee. Beijing has its own space ambitions, with a planned crewed lunar landing by 2030. It's possible that the Chinese will steal a march on NASA, with all the damage that will do to America's standing in the world. It didn't have to be this way. Isaacman could be settling in as NASA administrator, deploying his business acumen and vision to lead the space agency to its greatest achievements. Instead, America's space effort has received a self-inflicted blow from which it will be long in recovering, Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled 'Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?' as well as 'The Moon, Mars and Beyond,' and, most recently, 'Why is America Going Back to the Moon?' He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
08-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump's palace coup leaves NASA in limbo
When President-elect Donald Trump nominated Jared Isaacman to become NASA administrator, it seemed like a brilliant choice. Business entrepreneur, private astronaut, Isaacman was just the man to revamp NASA and make it into a catalyst for taking humanity to the moon, Mars and beyond. Isaacman sailed through the confirmation process in the Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), by a vote of 19 to 9. He was poised to be confirmed by the full Senate when something so bizarre happened that it beggars the imagination. The White House suddenly and with no clear reason why, pulled Isaacman's nomination. After months of a confirmation process, NASA was back to square one for getting a new leader. Ars Technica's Eric Berger offered an explanation as to why. 'One mark against Isaacman is that he had recently donated money to Democrats,' he wrote. 'He also indicated opposition to some of the White House's proposed cuts to NASA's science budget.' But these facts were well known even before Trump nominated Isaacman. Trump himself, before he ran for president as a Republican, donated to Democrats and was close friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Berger goes on to say that a source told the publication that, 'with Musk's exit, his opponents within the administration sought to punish him by killing Isaacman's nomination.' The idea that Isaacman's nomination is being deep-sixed because of Musk runs contrary to the public praise that the president has given the billionaire rocket and electric car entrepreneur. Trump was uncharacteristically terse in his own social media post. 'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,' he wrote. 'I will soon announce a new nominee who will be mission aligned, and put America First in Space. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' CNN reports that Isaacman's ouster was the result of a palace coup, noting that a source said, 'Musk's exit left room for a faction of people in Trump's inner circle, particularly Sergio Gor, the longtime Trump supporter and director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, to advocate for installing a different nominee.' The motive seems to be discontent about the outsized influence that Musk has had on the White House and a desire to take him down a peg or two. Isaacman was profoundly gracious, stating in part, 'I am incredibly grateful to President Trump @POTUS, the Senate and all those who supported me throughout this journey. The past six months have been enlightening and, honestly, a bit thrilling. I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry.' The idea that a man like Isaacman, well respected by the aerospace community, who was predicted to sail through a confirmation vote in the full Senate, could be taken down by an obscure bureaucrat in White House intrigue, motivated by petty spite, is mind boggling. Even Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who has not been fond of Trump's space policy, was appalled. He posted on his X account that Isaacman 'ran into the kind of politics that is damaging our country.' 'Republicans and Democrats supported him as the right guy at the right time for the top job at NASA, but it wasn't enough.' NASA is in for months more of turmoil and uncertainty as the nomination process gets reset and starts grinding its way through the Senate. The draconian, truncated budget proposal is certainly not helpful, either. Congress, which had been supportive of Trump's space policy, is not likely to be pleased by the president's high-handed shivving of his own nominee. Whoever Trump chooses to replace Isaacman as NASA administrator nominee, no matter how qualified, should face some very direct questioning. Trump's NASA budget proposal should be dead on arrival, which, considering the cuts in science and technology, is not necessarily a bad thing. China must be looking at the spectacle of NASA being mired in political wrangling, a leadership vacuum and budget uncertainty with glee. Beijing has its own space ambitions, with a planned crewed lunar landing by 2030. It's possible that the Chinese will steal a march on NASA, with all the damage that will do to America's standing in the world. It didn't have to be this way. Isaacman could be settling in as NASA administrator, deploying his business acumen and vision to lead the space agency to its greatest achievements. Instead, America's space effort has received a self-inflicted blow from which it will be long in recovering, Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled 'Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?' as well as 'The Moon, Mars and Beyond,' and, most recently, 'Why is America Going Back to the Moon?' He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.
Epoch Times
07-06-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Who Is the Ex-NASA Nominee Pushed to Spotlight by Musk-Trump Spat
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and formerly the nominee for President Donald Trump's NASA Administrator, has received scrutiny over his past donations amid growing public tensions between Trump and Elon Musk. Trump highlighted Isaacman's past donations—which In announcing the decision last week, Trump cited a 'thorough review of prior associations' and said that he would nominate an individual who would put 'America First in Space.' Isaacman had been suggested for the top space position by Musk, who heads SpaceX, the world's most valuable private space company. Isaacman helmed several spaceflight missions operated SpaceX, including the 2021 Inspiration4 and the 2024 Polaris Dawn, where he participated in the first private spacewalk. Isaacman accumulated his wealth through Shift4 Payments, the payment processing company he founded in his parents' house at age 16. He is also the founder of Draken International, an aerospace defense contractor. Trump has highlighted the fact that Musk knew Isaacman 'very well,' but said that Isaacman was a 'Democrat,' and that his nomination was 'inappropriate.' 'He happened to be a Democrat—like, totally Democrat,' Trump said. 'I say, you know, look, we won. We get certain privileges, and one of the privileges is we don't have to appoint a Democrat,' Trump told reporters last week. The NASA logo in the Webb Auditorium at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2022. STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images A senior administration official told The Epoch Times, that Isaacman's nomination wasn't pulled because of Musk and that other administration officials and nominees suggested by Musk aren't affected. 'Jared Isaacman should have never been picked,' said the senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. In a June 4 podcast 'I want to be overwhelmingly clear. I don't fault the President at all. I fully support him,' Isaacman said. Isaacman did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the U.S. Steel Corporation – Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pa., on May 30, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times Speaking of his nomination interview, he praised Trump for a depth of knowledge about the space program and China. 'The President was incredibly knowledgeable. I was impressed,' he said, noting they spoke a lot about the Chinese Air Force. After leaving the Trump administration as a special employee last week, Musk has criticized the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the president endorsed, over its potential fiscal impact on the federal government, calling the tax and spending package an 'abomination.' Trump has since threatened to pull federal subsidies and contracts for Musk's companies, saying it would be the 'easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars.' Musk is the CEO of spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX and electric vehicle maker Tesla.
